Jeff Bridich named new Colorado Rockies general manager

The Colorado Rockies finally have a new general manager. On Wednesday they announced that Jeff Bridich has been promoted to the position.

The Rockies named a new general manager before you could say “external candidate.”

More from Colorado Rockies News

Dan O’Dowd and Bill Geivett both stepped down from their respective positions on Wednesday morning. They were not fired, and it appears that owner Dick Monfort had a plan of action ready to go for his new general manager.

There was no hiring process. No job posting. No interviews conducted.

Dick Monfort didn’t even wait a day to name his new guy. Hell, he didn’t wait an hour.

Jeff Bridich was named Rockies’ GM on Wednesday. Bridich has been with the Rockies for 10 years and most recently served as the Senior Director of Player Development.

A quick survey of those who would know seems to indicate that Bridich is a solid hire in terms of his baseball background.

Ugh. You had me right up until “O’Dowd’s right-hand man.”

That raises the most important issue here. Monfort and O’Dowd were so tight that two things happened over the last 15 years: nothing ever changed, and Monfort got more and more involved with personnel decisions. For two quick examples, the Rockies would have drafted Evan Longoria in 2006 and traded Jorge De La Rosa this summer if Monfort would have stayed out of it.

Did Monfort promote Bridich so that he can continue running things that way? So that he can meddle and have the final say in key player personnel moves?

Bridich deserves a clean shot at this gig and he deserves the benefit of the doubt. I just hope Monfort lets him do his job.

More from Rox Pile

Schedule